Health Care Worker Bonus Update
Since the State issued information regarding the Health Care Worker Bonus (HWB) program, LeadingAge NY has been actively engaged with the Department of Health (DOH) to convey member concerns and obtain clarity on key questions. Most recently, LeadingAge NY submitted a list of 26 outstanding questions, and we invite members to continue sharing their questions with us. Below are some events and updates regarding the program.
Upcoming Education
DOH
We had been urging the State to conduct provider education and are pleased to report that they did announce two webinars, scheduled for Aug. 19th. Unfortunately, the 11 a.m. session has reached capacity; however, there remains an additional webinar that date at 1 p.m. A recording of the webinar will be posted to the HWB program home page. See below for information; registration is required.
Title: Healthcare Worker Bonus (HWB) Program Town Hall Stakeholder Webinar
Date: Fri., Aug. 19, 2022
Time: 1 to 2 p.m.
Registration Link: https://meetny.webex.com/meetny/onstage/g.php?MTID=e1890107bbdd340c12eda014cc136c659
LeadingAge NY
LeadingAge NY has also scheduled a webinar, which is free for members, Health Care Worker Bonus Program: What We Know So Far, for Tues., Aug. 23rd from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
This webinar will provide:
- a brief overview of the bonus program, with focus on particular areas of confusion;
- an update on the latest clarifications we have obtained from the State; and
- what providers need to know regarding tax/employee benefit implications and related reporting considerations.
Ample time will be allowed for questions and answers.
Presenters: LeadingAge NY Policy staff and Jeffrey E. Trubia, CPA/Partner, The Bonadio Group
Click here to register. A recording of this program will be made available to members. Please note that no credit will be offered for this program.
Implications for Home Care
Understandably, a number of questions have been raised regarding the bonus as it relates to home care workers. LeadingAge NY members providing home care services will have some staff eligible for the HWB program and other staff eligible for the home care minimum wage increase, which is effective Oct. 1st. Employers of home health aides, personal care aides, and personal assistants under the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) will be required to pay their workers an additional $2 effective Oct. 1, 2022 and another $1 effective Oct. 1, 2023. DOH is in the process of establishing the updated fee-for-service (FFS) and Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) rates at this time. FFS pass-through of the new home care minimum wage rate will be fairly straightforward. Pass-through of the new rate by MLTC plans to providers may vary depending upon negotiated rates that already provide for increased wage compensation.
Nurses, therapists, and other non-aide roles employed by licensed home care services agencies (LHCSAs), hospices, certified home health agencies (CHHAs), and other home and community-based services (HCBS) providers will be eligible to receive bonuses if they qualify under the program requirements.
DOH has confirmed that Assisted Living Program (ALP) home care agencies will be included in the home care wage increase, and thus the same rationale will apply to those workers as it relates to the bonus.
Other Health Care Support Workers
As we previously reported, the Eligible Employee information provides a list of “All Other Healthcare Support Workers” that includes titles such as food service, maintenance, housekeeping, etc. The website indicates that these roles are being awarded the bonus only in ‘medical institutions,’ which we read to mean hospitals and nursing homes. We are urging the Department to include those workers who serve in ALPs, as they served an equally critical role throughout the pandemic as their counterparts in nursing homes. To be clear, however, at this time, the guidance is clear that these workers in the ALP are not eligible.
We have also been urging the Department to include adult care facilities (ACFs) that have a resident population in which 20 percent or more are Medicaid-eligible. LeadingAge NY met with DOH to discuss these and other issues last week and will keep members apprised of any developments on these advocacy issues.
FAQs Updated
The HWB program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page has been updated. Unfortunately, many of our questions have not yet been addressed; however, we provide questions below that appear to be new that may be of interest to members. We anticipate more FAQs being issued soon.
Excerpted from Updated FAQs:
Q. Are Nursing Homes not enrolled in Medicaid Qualified Employers?
A. Nursing Homes who are not currently enrolled in the Medicaid program would only be Qualified Employers if they have a Vendor ID (and receive payments) through the Statewide Financial System (SFS).
Q. Is there a definition for each job title?
A. The majority of the job titles are pulled directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Please refer to these resources for details: Detailed BLS descriptions; Other. The Mental Hygiene titles listed in the statute at SOS § 367-w(2)(a)(ii) are taken from the title series in the Consolidated Fiscal Reporting and Claiming Manual (CFR), which includes additional descriptions of the referenced titles. The relevant description for titles under the CFR can be found here in Appendix R.
Q: Is an employer required to provide a bonus to an otherwise eligible employee who has been terminated for cause, whether prior to or after the deadline for the employer’s payment of the bonus?
A: Employers may be obligated to pay former employees who are eligible and vested while in their employment provided that their employment was not terminated within thirty (30) days of the Employer receipt of bonus funds. As such, if the employee was terminated after the employer’s payment of the bonus, the employer is still required to pay the bonus to the employee.
Q. Do the bonuses have to be paid out as payroll or can they be 1099. If they can be 1099, will a form 1099 issued to the employee (under the employee’s social security number) for any payment as Federal income tax will most likely be owed?
A. For federal income tax purposes, bonuses are considered supplemental wages and are required to be included as wages on the employee’s W-2. See IRS Publication 15, Employer’s Tax Guide, and IRS publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income, for more information.
Q: What is the employer’s obligation in relation to the bonus, if an employee is promoted within a vesting period from an eligible title to an ineligible title?
A: Upon completion of six-months of consecutive employment by an eligible employee with a qualified employer that ends within a vesting period established in the Vesting Schedule, the employer has thirty-days from the end of the vesting period to submit a claim for the bonus payment. See the Vesting Schedule.
Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828